Global: Partnership with UNICEF

Working in partnership

Unilever has made it a priority to make a long-term contribution to child health by improving nutrition and hygiene in a sustainable and affordable way. 
The partnership with UNICEF aims to tackle the Millennium Development Goal for children: to reduce mortality rates among children under five by two-thirds over the next decade.

The Unilever-UNICEF partnership is a clear expression of our commitment to our mission to add Vitality to life.

Combined expertise

Unilever brings to the collaboration its long-standing expertise in nutrition, hygiene and health. The company already offers low-income consumers affordable products and has actively participated in development in many different regions of the world.

The UNICEF team has a deep understanding of the impact of poverty on the development of young children. It also has strong advocacy experience and relationships with governments and health authorities.

Iodine deficiency in Africa

Unilever and UNICEF have already worked together on projects in West Africa. This collaboration has now been extended from a regional to a global level. A series of action programmes are being developed with a clear timetable for delivery.

One issue being addressed is iodine deficiency, the leading cause of brain damage in the world. According to figures from UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, around 740 million people are iodine deficient, including 30% of children aged under five in Africa.

In Africa, our work focuses on the idionsation of salt and providing consumer information. For example, in Ghana, up to 50% of households had been converted to using iodised salt within four years.

Nutrition in India

Meanwhile, in India, half of the country's young children are either moderately or severely undernourished – representing 40% of the world's undernourished children. Here, we launched a cross-sector multi-stakeholder initiative called the 'Partnership for Child Nutrition' with UNICEF and the Synergos Institute, a non-profit organisation tackling poverty.

Nutrition in Latin America

In Latin America we focus on the possibilities of improving fortified complementary feeding for infants and young children.